The war in Gaza
The war in Gaza continues. On Thursday, Palestinian terrorists fired 9 rockets into Israel hitting several Israeli settlements, including a direct hit on a house in Sderot. Luckily noone was injured. Random mortar shells were also fired into Israel. Seven tunnels used for smuggling arms were also discovered by an Israeli specialist team operating along the Egyptian-Gaza border and were destroyed (the Egyptians never find these).
Last night an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at a car in the southern Gaza strip and killed three Hamas operatives, including the head of the southern region. Since the beginning of the current campaign 220 Palestinians have been killed, and three Israelis. Each month for the past three months an IDF soldier was killed in close combat in Gaza. This upsurge in military activity is linked to the upcoming Annapolis conference that Hamas and its supporters oppose.
There are reports that Hamas is training an army of 15,000 men in Gaza, with support from Iran and Hizbollah. Iranian revolutionary guards, particularly the al Quds Brigade, that was recently declared a terrorist entity by the Bush Administration, are involved in this training. There was also a report that Fatah policemen in Gaza, now that it is controlled by Hamas, have transferred their allegiance to the Fatah al Islam extremist group that is affiliated with al Qaeda. Tis is the same group that was attacked by the Lebanese Army in the month's long siege at the Narh-el-Barad camp in Tripoli. So Gaza, nicknamed Hamastan, is now a terrorist mini-state right on our borders. So much for unilateral withdrawals!
The Israeli Cabinet and the Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak, have given permission for the IDF to plan a major ground offensive in Gaza. However, this will probably be delayed until after the Annapolis conference, so as not to give PA Pres. Abbas an excuse to cancel his attendance. It is quite likely that this Conference, instead of being the peace-parley that it is supposed to be, will be used by the Arab attendees, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as the EU and UN, to wring concessions thru US pressure on Israel. So Israel has it from both sides, the so-called "moderates" who seek to obtain concessions without giving anything, and the rejectionists who are attacking all the time. Once the Conference is over the IDF will have to take care of the growing strategic threat from Gaza.
Last night an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at a car in the southern Gaza strip and killed three Hamas operatives, including the head of the southern region. Since the beginning of the current campaign 220 Palestinians have been killed, and three Israelis. Each month for the past three months an IDF soldier was killed in close combat in Gaza. This upsurge in military activity is linked to the upcoming Annapolis conference that Hamas and its supporters oppose.
There are reports that Hamas is training an army of 15,000 men in Gaza, with support from Iran and Hizbollah. Iranian revolutionary guards, particularly the al Quds Brigade, that was recently declared a terrorist entity by the Bush Administration, are involved in this training. There was also a report that Fatah policemen in Gaza, now that it is controlled by Hamas, have transferred their allegiance to the Fatah al Islam extremist group that is affiliated with al Qaeda. Tis is the same group that was attacked by the Lebanese Army in the month's long siege at the Narh-el-Barad camp in Tripoli. So Gaza, nicknamed Hamastan, is now a terrorist mini-state right on our borders. So much for unilateral withdrawals!
The Israeli Cabinet and the Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak, have given permission for the IDF to plan a major ground offensive in Gaza. However, this will probably be delayed until after the Annapolis conference, so as not to give PA Pres. Abbas an excuse to cancel his attendance. It is quite likely that this Conference, instead of being the peace-parley that it is supposed to be, will be used by the Arab attendees, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as well as the EU and UN, to wring concessions thru US pressure on Israel. So Israel has it from both sides, the so-called "moderates" who seek to obtain concessions without giving anything, and the rejectionists who are attacking all the time. Once the Conference is over the IDF will have to take care of the growing strategic threat from Gaza.
posted by Jack Cohen at 3:29 PM
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